Joseph M. Schenck

Russian-born American film producer, born in 1877. With his brother Nicholas he built a major career financing and producing silent films, partnering with Buster Keaton (Battling Butler, The General) and later with the formation of United Artists and 20th Century-Fox. He was a key early figure of the studio system and a founder of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He died in 1961.